Flower Fruit Mountain was never quiet— but it was wrong when Macaque was missing. The Brotherhood noticed it almost immediately. Azure Lion was the first to bring it up, one heavy brow lifting as he looked around their meeting spot. “He’s late.”
Peng snorted, preening a feather between their claws. “Since when is that unusual? Macaque shows up whenever he pleases.”
Yellowtusk hummed as he glanced toward the forest. “Still.. I have not sensed him nearby today.”
The absence hung strangely in the air.
Without him, things felt… off.
DBK crossed his massive arms, impatience crackling in the air like heat from a forge. “He was supposed to help me test the new battle drills.”
Peng shrugged. “Maybe he got distracted?”
Sun Wukong leaned back on a tree branch above them, tail dangling lazily while he sat. “Nah. If he was doing that, we’d hear about it.”
Because Macaque always told him.
Even when the others didn’t care, Macaque would wander over with that smug grin and murmur some sarcastic update only Wukong seemed to care about. Wukong tilted his head, frowning faintly. “..Actually,” He said slowly. “I haven’t seen him all day.”
Azure Lion looked up. “You two are.. closest.” He said.
Wukong grimaced immediately. “Don’t say it like that.”
Peng snickered. But DBK waved a dismissive hand. “Just go find him. If he’s slacking off again, drag him back.”
Wukong hopped down from the tree with a light thud, stretching his arms over his head. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll go look.” Still, as he turned toward the forest, something uneasy tugged at the back of his mind. Because Macaque wasn’t the type to disappear.
Not without telling him.
Wukong searched everywhere.
Still nothing.
Hours passed. The sun dipped lower in the sky, staining the mountain gold and crimson.
Wukong scratched the back of his head, frustration growing. “Okay.. this is weird.” Usually Macaque would have popped out of a shadow by now just to mock him with a; ‘Looking for me, hero?’
But the forest stayed stubbornly quiet. Eventually Wukong sighed, shoulders slumping. “Great,” He muttered. “Now I gotta explain this to everyone.”
He bounced his staff against his shoulder and started down the familiar path toward his house. Maybe Macaque would show up later. Maybe he’d just been wandering somewhere farther out on the mountain.
Still…
Wukong couldn’t shake the strange knot in his chest. His home sat nestled in a clearing surrounded by peach trees, lanterns swaying gently in the evening breeze. The place was peaceful.
Wukong pushed the door open with his foot. He set his staff against the wall and dropped into a chair, leaning back while staring at the ceiling. “Alright… think.”
What was he supposed to tell the Brotherhood? ‘Hey guys, our shadow monkey just vanished into thin air.’ Yeah. That would go over well.
Maybe Macaque would wander back before dinner. Speaking of which… Wukong rubbed his stomach thoughtfully. “Should I make noodles..?”
A faint rustling sound came from down the hallway.
Wukong froze.
The noise was subtle.. but his ears were far too sharp to miss it.
Another rustle.
From his bedroom.
His staff was in his hand instantly. The lazy slouch vanished from his posture, replaced by alert tension. “..Right.” Wukong muttered. Someone had broken into the his house.
Bold.
He stepped quietly down the hallway, every sense sharpened. The door to his bedroom was slightly open. The rustling sound came again. Something shifting under fabric. Wukong pushed the door open with his staff raised. “Alright, whoever you are—”
He stopped. Because the room looked normal. Mostly. Except for the bed, where the blankets had formed a very suspicious lump. The shape moved slightly. And then Wukong heard it.
Soft. Uneven. Panting.
His eyes narrowed. “..You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Slowly, carefully, he approached the bed. The lump shifted again. A faint whimper slipped out. That made Wukong pause. Because that sound was—
“...Macaque?”
The blankets twitched.